My study has a dual purpose; 1. To examine the explanatory power of educational theory as a means of illuminating a particular educational practice. 2. To examine the potential for practice to provide a critique of educational theory and thus contribute towards the generation of new theoretical perspectives. I do this by focusing on the possible failure of a particular opposition movement, to wit the progressive movement in Victorian secondary schools 1966-1976. I investigate the limits and possibilities of such a movement with reference to ideal conditions. There are 3 phases to this investigation: 1. a descriptive account of the progressive movement which attempts to establish its status as an oppositional movement and its context. 2. an internal analysis of its themes, intentions and practices according to the criteria of consistency and coherence . 3. an external analysis which takes up the inconsistencies or contradictions as problems in need of interpretation. Selected educational theories and studies, such as those developed by Bowles and Gintis, Sharp, Willis and Hinkson will be examined both for their power to account for the particular contradictions that emerged and their ability to illuminate broader processes of constraint which work both in and through schooling. The purpose of such an analysis is to heighten our understanding of contemporary educational theory and practice through a sharper perspective of the immediate past, drawing on, and learning from, both the mistakes and insights of the past. I offer in conclusion, some provisional remarks for use in similar situations in the future. This paper is not an empirical study or a case study, but a form of conceptual analysis using texts and theoretical perspectives.